COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONEditor’s Note: If you had the 8.1% abv version marketed since 2014 as a Double India Pale Ale, this is the wrong beer page. Please rate under Green Flash West Coast IPA (2014 -).

This West Coast-Style India Pale Ale is extravagantly hopped, full flavored, medium bodied and copper colored. A menagerie of hops is combined throughout the brewing process to impart specific characteristics. Hops used include Simcoe for a unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes, and Cascade for floral aroma.

green flash, what a great name. feel like the green lantern should jump out of the glass/bottle with a huge hop on his finger. i digress, this had a nice fruit spice nose. once it drops on your tongue you feel a rush of resiny piney hops swirling around your brain like an express train. a solid brew and a classic contender if i dont say so myself.

UPDATED: MAR 21, 2007 Bottle. Pours a light amber color. Aroma is very hoppy. Strong and bitter smelling. A touch of sweetness mixed in as well. The flavor is very bitter, the bitterness is dominated by a grapefruit sort of flavor. I think I might be able to taste a little maltiness through the hops. No alcohol notes. Pretty solid.

Bottle. Pours reddish amber with a huge beige head that lingered well and left nice lacing. Nice piney, citrusy hop aroma with a hint of sweetness. Big robust flavor dominated by the plentiful hops, yet balanced by a sufficient amount of fruity sweet malts and a bit of spice. Medium body and gentle carbonation. Nice beer, my favorite of the Green Flash offerings so far.

Yes, finally green flash shows some real potential - they have a winner that delivers as advertised (or at least named). A real prototype west coast IPA, balance is hop monster with some malt in the background all the right buttons for the style. Will pick up a sixer at next opportunity.

The aroma had a slight grapefruit note, hops, and muskiness. The flavor was non-descript w/ no grapefruit (slight at best), citrus, pine, etc. The beer poured a brownish orange color w/ slight head and medium lacing. The mouthfeel was light and medium carbonated w/ a big bitter.

12 oz bottle (thanks DarkElf). Pours burnt apricot with a small, lasting head. The hoppy aroma leaps out of the tulip and reminds me of all of the great ipa’s that come out of San Diego. This brew is right up there with the best of them. Great use of hops and a nice delicate balance. Excellent work.

UPDATED: APR 26, 2005 (12 oz bottle: Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA) Sweet Jesus! I think Green Flash has finally done it! Their previous offerings were decent, ones I seemed to enjoy more than most, but not what I’d call worthy of rave reviews, but I think their latest beer just might put them on the very crowded San Diego map. This beer is terrific, every bit as good as some of my favorite IPAs, but falls just short of, oh, Alpine Pure Hoppiness. True to its name, the West Coast IPA is packed with hops, very bitter, and featuring a grapefruit flavor that’s about as intense as any IPA I’ve tasted, and probably hoppier than some Double IPAs. And oh yeah, with all that grapefruit, it’s easy to overlook the solid malt base, but don’t. Well balanced early, but the finish is definitely dominated by the bitter grapefruit. The nose is also moderately malty, but still, the fresh hops bouquet asserts itself to modest dominance. That said, it tastes hoppier than it smells. At a minimum, the body is medium plus, maybe even medium-full, with a full, but crisp mouthfeel and a bitter bite that lasts for eons. Medium amber in color, clear in appearance. Sizeable off-white head initially, diminishing to a thin layer over time, but leaving a fairly dense, but moth-eaten curtain of lace on the glass. If there was a bit more malt for a sweeter, stickier palate, this would qualify as a double IPA. Let’s call this a 1.5 IPA, and now I have a Green Flash beer I can trade with pride. Congrats, guys, and hopefully you can keep the momentum going with your next offering, like maybe an Imperial Stout???

Full aroma of hops and citrus, and has a little bit of a musty sweat smell too. Golden honey color with a thin but ruff white head. Somewhat sour and bitter from a moderate hop character, notes of pine, and huge grapefruit taste. One of the most concentrated grapefruit flavored IPA’s ive had besides Rogue’s brutal bitter. Big ups to Green Flash for making an IPA for us hop lovers

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